By Diya Ramesh (’23)

Right now, I’m willing to bet anything that you are at home. I’m right, aren’t I? How on Earth did I know? Am I psychic? Nope, just quarantined, just like you. Yes, let’s address the elephant in the room, which is that the coronavirus pandemic has transformed our lives. We are definitely going to remember these moments for decades to come. However, now that we are experiencing this crisis, we have to ask ourselves, “What’s next?” Well, lawmakers and leaders are facing this question in all aspects of life, including one very relevant one for us: school. In Michigan and many other states, school has been closed for the rest of the year, but what about the students’ education? Well, in Michigan, at one point, it was stated that the hours that many schools are now spending in online school will not count. While this was not the final decision, this should not be the case.

While I understand that many schools are not currently able to participate in online schooling right now, that does not mean that it should not count for all schools. The state should assist these schools in finding a way to effectively continue schooling online, and as for concerns over online schooling not being enough, the government should set guidelines on what is or is not enough, for schools to adjust. If they ultimately decide to not count these hours, how will we make them up? Usually, if schools close too much, they extend into their summer, but in this case, if we close until the end of the school year that would be 3-4 months of missed school, which is longer than the summer, itself. Trying to compensate by increasing schooling next year will just be highly chaotic. So, how do we solve this? Allow online hours to count.

Online school is, in some ways, similar to a conventional school, as teachers already commonly use online resources to teach and help their students learn. Although it is a little unconventional right now, schools will soon adjust to this new method and adapt to the situation. Then, they will be able to cover more content and be back up to standard, eliminating the issue of a lack of education. So, in conclusion, online schooling should count, to make all our lives a little easier.